Combination lock



Aug. 2, 1938. L. F CHS I 2,125,607

- COMBINATION LOCK Filed Feb. 18, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 1' Fig.1 1 2 R g. v L-a y J I L gi ig l 4 v I r [so Ram's Aug. 2, 1938. 1.. FUCHS COMBINATION LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 In vemor:

' Z260 F 00 s 2 @M I 17 rraxwrys Filed Feb. 18, 1957 v Au 2, 1938. FUCHS 2,125,607

COMBINATION LOCK frrommy;

L. FUCHS COMBINATION LOCK Aug. 2, 1938.

Filed Feb. 18, 1937 v 4 SheetS-Sheet 4 lnvemor:

Z 0 FL c 1/ s Patented Aug. 2, 1938 1 PATENT OFFICE:

COMBINATION LOCK Leo Fuchs,Bei-lin, Germany Application February 18, 1937, Serial No. 126,323

In Germany January 10, 1933 12 Claims. (01. 70-305) This invention relates to combination locks having a plurality of locking members'and a setting member intended for the successive operation of the locking members, said setting member being adjustable relatively to a fixed numeral scale and limited in each of its paths of travel by a stop. In known combination locks of this type the setting member is designedas a selector dial, which after dialling each numeral is brought back into the starting position by a spring. At I the same time, provision is made for the selector dial to be coupled to the following locking member after the completion of each dialling operation, more particularly during its return run.

'I'he returningof the dial after each dialling mati return of the setting member to the initial position and by disposing the operating' handles on the setting member at equal'distances relatively to one another and in an endless row. At

- the same time it is advisable to choose a prime number for the number of operating handles.

The setting member can, for example, be designed as a disc, cylinder or a band loop.

- The combination lock is preferably provided with checking or locking means which hold the setting member in each end position of a setting.

3 The progressive coupling of the setting'member with each successive locking member can be' eifected in any desired manner, provided that no complete returning of the setting member to its 40 starting position is associated therewith. A returning of the setting member in a manner iu-.

dependent of and varying from the setting path of travel after every dialling operation could be provided without aiiecting the result aimed at by the invention. Itappears to be particularly advantageous to effect the progressive coupling by making the stop which restricts the path of. travel of the setting member resilient by a spring or springs and by utilizing the displacement or rock-- ing of said stop, resulting from each dialling op-v eration, forthe'purpose of effecting the required connection between the setting member and each successive locking member.

If a rockably mounted lever be provided for 55 the progressive coupling of the settingmember.

with each successive locking member, it is advisable to arrange this lever in such a way that it can be rocked out beyond its starting position, and to utilize this, additionalrockability for the securing of the lock, 1. e for the displacement of .5 the locking members.

In order more clearly to understand the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate diagrammatically and by way of example, and in which:-- 10 Fig. 1 depicts the arrangement of the lock in the door; I

Fig. 2 shows a view from above of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1; Fig: 3 shows a view from the side of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. '4 shows a representation of the interior of the look after removal of the tumblers and appertaining setting means;

Fig. 5 shows a representation corresponding to Fig. 4 with the tumblers and appertaining setting means 'fitted;

Fig. 6 shows a section thr'ough the lock housing, taken along the line VI-VI in Fig. 4, showing a part of the coupling'mechanism;

Fig. 7 shows a section through the line VII--VII in Fig. 4; V

Fig. 8 shows a section through the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 9 shows a section through the lock housing, taken along the line IX-IX of Fig. 5, and representing a portion of the lock mechanism.

The lock mechanism is enclosed in a housing Ifwhich is accommodated in a cavity in the door 2 and firmly secured to the door by alatch plate 3 (Figs. 1-3). The latch plate has an opening for the latch 6 and a further opening for the catch 5. Externally of the lock housing I lie the two setting dials s with stops 1, the latch handles a and the'door handles 9 serving to operate the 40 catch 5. All of these'parts are secured to the lock and connected .to the parts ofthe lock within the housing I by means of the rectangular spindles in, II, I2 and I3.- The aforesaid rectangular spindles are mounted on each side of the door in plates II the upper disc-shaped ends of which form numeral plates I5. The numeral plates are provided with eleven divisions, of which, however, only ten are numbered progressively from 1 to 0.

The setting dials 6 secured on the spindle III are each provided with eleven apertures I6, which are disposed at the same distance from one another and in an endless row.

Within the housing I there is secured to the widened portion 21.

spindle ID a sleeve l1, on which a ratchet wheel l8 having eleven cams is firmly mounted and a pinion l9 having eleven teeth is slidably mounted. A catch lever 22, pivoted at 28 and loaded by the spring 2|, is engaged with the ratchet wheel [8 and locks the latter, and thus also the setting dials 6, in one direction of rotation and ensures that the holes |6 in the setting discs 6 always lie exactly opposite the figures on the numeral plates l5. The pinion i9 is guided on the sleeve H by means of tongue and grooving, and lies in the fork 23 of a lever 24 the hub of which is formed as a' nut for the threaded spindle 25 on which a pinion 26 is secured. Opposite the pinion l9 and the fork 23, the housing is furnished with a The catch 30, pivoted at 28 and loaded by the spring 29, engages on one side, and a toothed segment .3| on the other side, with the pinion 26, said toothed segment being mounted free to rotate on a hub 32 firmly joined to the spindle II and possessing four projecting cams 33. The toothed segment 3| lies in the position of rest against a stop 34, under the pressure of a spiral spring 35, the outer end of which is attached at 36 to the housing I while its inner end is attached at 31 to the toothed segment 3|, and which is accommodated in the hollow hub of the toothed segment. Around the hub 32 there is also disposed a disc 38, free to turn, on the angular attachment39 of which acts a tensile spring 4| secured at 49. In the path of travel of the angular attachment 39 there are provided fixed stops 42 and 43. A' plate 44 is firmly joined to the hub 32 and is provided with an angular projection 45, lying against the angular attachment 39 in the position of rest, and an engaging piece 46, while a catch 48 is pivoted to said plate at 41. The catch 48 is loaded by a spring which is not illustrated and which tends to rock the catch in an anti-clockwise direction in the view shown in Fig. 4, and said catch is controlled'by the fixed are 49. Th plate 44 possesses a projection 50, in the path of travel of which lies an angular attachment 5| on the pawl 38. On the hub 32 there are finally mounted, in such a way as to be freeto rotate, four disc-shaped spoke-wheels 52 which are provided with toothing over the greater part of their periphery and are separated from one another by distance plates 53 which are held at 28 and form, with the wheels 52, an arc-shaped passage 54 for the carrier 46. The path of rotation of the wheels 52 is limited by a stop 55, which projects into the path of movement of the teeth. with each wheel there is engaged a catch lever .56 (Fig. 5) which is pivoted at 20 and is loaded by the spring 51. The catch levers 56 are so shaped that they merely obstruct, but do not prevent, the turning of the various wheels 52 in both directions. One of the wheels 52 is always engaged with the pinion I9 each wheel 52 is in addition allocated a pinion 58 having eleven .teeth. All the pinionsv 58 are mounted free to rotate on the spindle 59 and are also kept at a distaance from one another by the distance plates 53. The spindle 59 is secured to the lever 63, which is pivoted at 60 and loaded by the spring 6| and which carries at its end 63 a tongue 64. The opposiite end 65 of the lever 62 lies against the cam 66 rotatably mounted in the housing wall, which cam is so shaped that, when it rotates, the lever 62 is rocked in an anticlockwise direction out of the position illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, under the action of the spring 6|. On every pinion 58 there is provided a tooth gap with a recess 61. When the pinion 58 is in the corresponding position, a bolt 68 can engage in the recesses 61, this bolt being secured to the lever 1| pivoted at 69 and loaded by the spring 18. The nose 12 of the lever 1| is so shaped that it can engage in the upper notches 13, 14 and 15 of the latch 4. The arm 16 of the lever 1| is shaped at its end as a tongue 1; to the second lever arm there is pivoted at 18 an angle-piece 19 which encloses with its fork 86 the pin 8| which acts as pivot bearing for the lever 82. The

lever 82 is loaded by the tensile spring 83 and possesses an angular heat-off portion 84 which can engage in the lower notches 85, 86, 81 of the latch 4 and, in the position shown in Fig. 4, lies in the path of movement of the projection 88 provided on the catch 5. The tensile spring 89 acts on the projection 88. On the rear, narrowed portion of the catch 5, which is guided between the pin 8| and a sleeve 90 secured on the spindle 3, there is provided an angular projection 9| which lies in the path of travel of a cam 92 on the lever 93, which is secured on the sleeve 90, is loaded by the tensile spring 94 and is supported by the projection 95 against the base of the housing I of the lock. On the spindle |2 there is secured a hub 96, which lies in the slot 91 in the latch 4 and carries'a cam 98 and also a toothed arc 99. The cam 98 lies in the plane of the free end of the lever 19, and the toothed are 99 in the plane of the toothing I of the latch 4. On the hub 96 there is in addition secured a snap bolt II, in the path of movement of which lie two recesses I02 provided on the inner wall of the housing I. r

The manner in which the lock acts is as follows:-

Reference will first bemade to Fig. 4, which illustrates the closed position of the lock, in which the latch 4 and the catch are locked. The unlocking of the latch 4' is dependent upon the cam 98 releasing the angle-piece 19 and upon the nose 12 being at the same time removed from the notch 13. The unlocking of the catch 5 is dependent upon the bent-ofl? portion 84 being removed from the path or movement of the projection 88; this, however,.in consequence of the small depth of the notches 85 and 86, is possible only after the latch 4 has been completely drawn back into the interior of the housing, so that the bent-01f portion 84 can enter the deeper notch 81.

The nose 12 can be partially removed from the notch 13 by turning the hub 96, with the aid 01 the latch handle 8, in an anti-clockwise direction until the toothed arc 99 reaches the toothing 190 of the latch 4. In consequence of the release of the angle-piece 19, the spring 10 lifts the nose 12 upwards. At the same time, the catch 68 is placed in successive tooth gaps on the pinion 58. The depth of the tooth gaps, however, is such that the catch 68 cannot be displaced suihciently to allow the 'nose 12 to emerge completely from the notch 13. That is the case only when the tooth gap on each pinion 58 having the recess 61 lies in each case opposite the catch 68.

Since the wheels 52, in the locked'position, engage in each case with the first tooth of their crown wheel in the corresponding pinions 58, it is possible, by suitably rotating the various pinions when the lock is assembled, to set any desired figure combination for the unlocking of the lock. In the device depicted, however, provisions is also made to ensure that the figure combination can be set or changed only after the assembly of the lock, the pinions 58 being disconnected from the wheels 52. This is done by rocking the lever 62 out of. position; it is, however, possible to do this only after the tongue TI has been removed from the path of movement of g the tongue 84 and after the cam 66, which can be operated from outside, has been turned a certain angle. The tongue TI is removed from the path of movement of the tongue 64, during the unlocking of the look, as soon as the catch 68 with the recesses 61. In order that the catch 68 may remain engaged with the recessed teeth of the pinions "when the lever 62 is rocked away, the unlocked latch 4 is only partially brought ig back into the housing I, so that the nose l2 enters the notch 14, which is less deep than the notches I3 and I5. Thereupon, each Wheel 52 is turned, with the aid of. the setting dial 6 and the pinion H, as many teeth as correspond to the desired figure combination. The pinions 58 and 2 position visible in Fig. 4, the lock is unlocked and a the lever 62 are then brought back into the position shown in Fig. 5.

Assuming that the lock is set to the figure combination 4731 and is in the locked closed opened in the following manner:-

With the aid of the setting dial 6 the figure 4 is dialled, the stop lever I (Fig. 1) being rocked in a clockwise direction around the spindle ii. In consequence the plate 44 and with it the disc 88 are turned until the angular projection 38 strikes against the stop 43. The pawl 48 participates in this rotary movement, and is removed by the action of its loading spring- (not 5 shown) from the are 49 and engages behind the first cam 33. At the same time, the pinion IS, the first wheel 52 (which in the representation in Fig. 5 lies farthermost to the rear) and the corresponding pinion 58 are rotatedby four teeth, so

4 that the tooth gap, provided with the recess 61,

on this pinion 88 lies in the path of movement of the catch 68. When thereafter the stop lever I is released, the spring 4i brings the disc 38, the

plate 44, the pawl 48 and the stop lever I back into the starting position determined by the stop 82. At the same time, the toothed arc 3| is carried round by the pawl 48, until the latter is *separated by the are, from the first cam 33.v

The rocking of the toothed arc 3| is of such a 'magnitude that the pinion 2B is turned by four teeth. During this turning of the pinion 26, the

pinion I 9 is displaced by the fork 23 of the lever 2:, so that it now engages with the second wheel 8 The figures "7, "3 and l are dialled in a similar manner. After the last dialling operation the pinion I9 is displaced into the widened portion 2! of the housing I. As in the case of each pinion 58 the tooth gap provided with the 3 recess 61 lies'in the path of movement of the catch 88, the latch 4 can be displaced as desired by means of the latch handle 8. The latch is secured in one of its limit positions by turning the stop lever I (Fig. 1) in an anti-clockwise 65 direction. The plate 44 participates in this movement. The carrier 46 brings the wheels 52 back as far as the stop 55, while the projection 50 detaches the pawl 30 from the pinion 26, so that, under the action of. the spiral spring 35, the

' toothed arc 3|, the pinion 26, the lever 24 and the pinion I! are also brought back into their starting position. The restoration of the stop lever I to the position shown in Fig. 1 isefiected by hand.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the. setting engages in the teeth ofthe pinions 58 provided a dial 6 is always turned in the same direction;

there is' no return movement, so that it is practically impossible for an unauthorized person to ascertain the figures of the figure combinationor the combination itself by means of finger prints or varying wear on the setting dial 8.

, Particularly great security against betrayal of the figure combination or of the individual figures is afforded when a prime number is chosen for the number of holes l6, because in such case ditierent holes are always used for the dialling. An exception is formed only by the case-which can be avoided without diflionlty-when the cross total of the figure combination is equal to the prime number.

What I claim is:-

1. In a combination lock, a plurality of locking members, a setting member provided with an endless row of operating'handles equally'spaced apart and adjustable relatively to a fixed scale,'

said setting member remaining in position after each adjustment, 9, stop arranged in the path of said operating handles and limiting the travel of said setting member, and means for the progressive coupling of the setting member with the locking member following in each case.

2. In a combination look, a plurality of locking members, a setting member provided with an endless row of operating handles equally spaced apart and adjustable relatively to a fixed scale; a stop arranged in the path of said operating handles and limiting the travel of said setting member, checking means retaining the setting member in its final position, and means for the progressive coupling of the setting member with 4. In a combination look, a plurality of lockingmembers, a. setting member provided with a prime number. of operating handles equally spaced apart as an endless row and adjustable relatively to a fixed scale, a stop arranged in the path of said operating handles, and limiting the travel of Said'setting member, checking means retaining the setting member in its final position, and means forthe progressive coupling of the setting member with the locking member following in each case.

5. In a combination lock, a plurality of locking members, a setting member provided withian endless row of operating handles equally spaced apart and adjustablerelatively to a fixed scale, said setting member remaining inposition after each adjustment, a stop lever arranged in the path of said operating handles and rockable against the action or a spring, which lever, when out of the normal position-,enters into operative connection with means for the progressive coupling of the setting member with the locking member following in-each case.

6 1p a combination look as defined by claim 5' in which the said'stop lever is rockable out of.

its normal position in the opposite direction too and, when rocked in this ODDQ te direction, en-

ters into operative connection with means which displace the locking members for the purpose or securing the lock.

7. In a combination lock, a plurality of locking members, a setting member provided with an endless row of operating handles equally spaced apart and adjustable relatively to a fixed scale, checking means retaining. the setting member in its final position, a stop lever arranged in the path 01' said operating handles and rockable against the action of a spring, which lever, when out of the normal position, enters into operative connection with means for the progressive coupling of the setting member with the locking member following in each case.

8. In a combination lock as defined by claim '7 in which the said stop lever is rockable out of its normal position in the opposite direction too and, when rocked in this opposite direction, enters into operative connection with means which displace the locking members for the purpose of securing the lock.

- 9. In a combination lock, a plurality of locking members, a setting member provided with a prime 'number of operating handles equally spaced apart as an endless row and adjustable relatively to a fixed scale, said setting member remaining in position after each adjustment, a stop lever arranged in the vpath of said operating handles and rockable against the action of a spring, which lever, when out of the normalposition, enters into operative connection with means for the progressive coupling of the setting member with the locking member following in each case.

10. In a combination lock as defined by claim 9 in which the said stop lever is rockable out of its normal position in the opposite direction too and,

when rocked in this opposite direction, enters into operative connection with means which dis- .place the locking members for the purpose of prime number of operating handles equally spaced apart as an endless row and adjustable relatively to a fixed scale, checking means retaining the setting member in its final position, a stop lever arranged in the nether said operating handles and rockable against the action of a spring, which lever, when out of the normal position, enters into operative connection with means for the progressive coupling of the setting member with the locking member following in each case. I

12. In a combination look as defined by claim 11 in which the said stop lever is rockable out of its normal position in the opposite direction too and, when rocked in this opposite direction, enters into operative connection with means which displace the locking members for the purpose of securing the lock.

LEO FUCHS. 

